En afton på Röda Kvarn. Svensk stumfilm som musikdrama

Sammanfattning: The dissertation delineates the development of silent film music in Sweden in relation to changes in the production practices. Also, the study shows, through analyses of certain Swedish films from 1919-1928, that music to narrative silent film had and still has a dramaturgical, structural, narrative and dramatical function which has to be taken into consideration when one studies the reception of silent films. The historical chapters deal with the orchestral development, with film music during the first decades of silent film and delineates the way silent film music became a more integrated part of cinematic narration. Among other things, Swedish original compositions and arrangements of compiled music are discussed in some detail. Also accounts of the mechanical instruments used in Sweden, and the musicians' working conditions are provided. The still common apprehension that music is narratively and dramatically more significant in sound film than in silent film is discussed. Based on some theoretical reflections and on analyses of films whose music derives from either cue-sheets or an original score, the statement is reversed: music in silent film played a different and a more significant role than a mere illustrative one. Silent film could even be regarded as a musicodramatic work of art, in which music offers a substantial portion of the information, being thus even nmore important in silent film than in sound films.